Five Rock Cats Players Named to Eastern League All-Star Team

Published on July 7, 2014 under Eastern League (EL1)
New Britain Rock Cats News Release


New Britain, CT- The New Britain Rock Cats Baseball Club, the Double-A Eastern League Affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, has been informed that five of its players have been named to the Eastern League All-Star Team. The game, which the Rock Cats hosted in New Britain last season, will take place on Wednesday, July 16 at Peoples Natural Gas Field in Altoona, Pennsylvania, home of the Altoona Curve.

RHP *Cole Johnson*, LHP *Taylor Rogers*, 1B/OF *Reynaldo Rodriguez*, INF/OF *Tony Thomas*, 1B *Kennys Vargas* have all been selected to the Eastern Division All-Star Team Roster. The Rock Cats will be paired with players from the Red Sox, Yankees, Mets, Blue Jays, and Phillies organizations for the mid summer classic. Both Vargas and Rogers were voted in by the fans with the on-line voting on Milb.com. Vargas was also selected to the Major League Futures Game and will play for the World Team on July 13 at Target Field in Minnesota (ESPN-2).

Johnson, 25, has posted a 2.70 ERA in 30 relief outings with the Rock Cats while converting on five of seven save opportunities. He has registered 47 strikeouts in 40 innings pitched and held EL hitters to a .215 batting average. The Notre Dame product was the Twins' 44th round pick in 2011. This is his second season at New Britain.

Rogers, 23, leads the Rock Cats with 7 wins and has turned in quality starts in 11 of his last 13 outings. The lefty went 5-0 with a 2.41 ERA in six starts in the month of May and posted a 3.12 ERA in six starts in June. He is listed by Baseball America as the Twins #19 prospect and was selected in 11th round out of the University of Kentucky.

Rodriguez, 28, also named EL Player of the Week today, leads the Rock Cats in batting average, leads the EL in doubles and is tied for the team lead in home runs and ranks second in RBI. He batted .311 with six home runs and 18 RBI in 27 games in June and is batting .583 in five games in July. The Cartagena, Columbia native was also an EL All-Star with the Portland Sea Dogs in 2012 and has played at the Triple-A level.

Thomas, 27, is in his first season with the Twins organization and has been the Rock Cats regular shortstop of late. He played in the Red Sox system last year and was signed as a free agent this past winter. The Florida State product enjoyed a nice month of June, batting .282 with 7 doubles, one triple, one home run and 8 RBI in 24 games.

Vargas, 23, who is on the Twins' 40-man Major League Roster, has been one of the most productive offensive players for the Rock Cats this season batting .291 with 13 doubles, 14 home runs and 57 RBI. He leads the club in RBI and also ranks 4th in the Eastern League. The power hitting first baseman is with the Rock Cats for his first season at Double-A. He is listed by Baseball America as the Twins #20 prospect.

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